Table of contents for January 2018 in Digital Camera Magazine

FIRST... Here’s to a jolly, fun-filled festive season from me and the Digital Camera team! We’re thrilled this issue to announce the winners of the first two rounds of our Photographer of the Year competition. Congratulations to all who entered: it really was a tough job judging so many fabulous images. There’s still plenty of time the to enter remaining rounds – and remember to use the discount code DCPOTY1850 for half-price entry. If you’re 25 or under, you’ll get one entry free! There are some amazing prizes up for grabs. Turn to page 76 for full details and to see the winning images so far. You may have noticed that there’s a useful little lens cleaning brush with this issue (UK edition only) and a 2018 wall planner featuring…

WE’VE all seen the steam-filled train carriages of old black and white movies, and even at a rock concert, the appearance of artificial fog (dry ice) creates a moody atmosphere. It’s no different in the stills photography world. By adding some artificial fog from our atmosphere aerosol can, we can turn plain environments into character-filled stages, with long shafts of light illuminating the areas around our model. This technique works best indoors with no air movement, but if the wind is relatively calm outside (and you have a lot of fog spray), you could try this outside, too. We’ve chosen the periodstyle carriages of the Avon Valley Railway in Bitton, South Gloucestershire, to do our photoshoot, so let’s start spraying... Step 1 Go handheld first to find your favourite vantage…

FOR those of us who can’t afford a full suite of specialist lenses or are using a camera system that doesn’t offer a particular lens, all is not lost. The chances are there’s an adapter that can enable you to use a lens designed for a different system on your camera, or perhaps let your own lenses focus closer for more frame-filling impact. If lens adapters are alien to you, don’t worry, we’re here to help. There are two types of lens adapters: those that sit between the camera body and the rear of the lens, and those that attach to the front of the lens. The adapters that go on the front are primarily concerned with enabling a lens to focus closer or take in a wider view. These…

TYPE OF ADAPTER PROS CONS TELECONVERTER Teleconverters are a great way to effectively get more focal length without the need to fork out for a longer lens – although high-quality converters are expensive. They’re certainly easier to carry than an additional lens, though, and retain the electronic communication for autofocus and exposure details to pass between the lens and camera. The big drawback is that they reduce the maximum aperture of the lens and therefore the amount of light available to make an exposure. For instance, a 1.4x converter reduces the amount of light by one stop, while a 2x converter reduces it by two stops. As a result, you may run the risk of blurred shots unless you increase the ISO to compensate. EXTENSION TUBE Extension tubes don’t contain…

MONO MAGIC EXPERT JUDGE: PAUL GALLAGHER WINNER JAKUB KAROL KOWALSKI Paul says: “A very clever use of tones to capture the sense of motion and energy in this absolutely beautiful image. The wonderful silky tones are subtle, and render just enough detail where it’s needed to give a sense of detail in the subject’s face. The fleeting ghostly movement gliding through the image is simply wonderful.” 2nd JAKUB KOZIOL “This is very well-handled image. There are lovely subtle nuances to the tones, with the shadows and the highlight retaining detail but without appearing too flat. The transition from dark to light is pitch-perfect and cleverly done. The speckles of light on the forest floor add to the depth of the scene.” 3rd BAILEY DECARIA “A fascinating and thought provoking triptych…

Send your question to digitalcamera@futurenet.com and let us provide you with a solution ANDREW JAMES Our expert photo advisor is here to help Which long zoom? Q My passions in photography are wildlife and birds. Which 100-400mm zoom lens should I get for easier handheld shots? Don Spiller A DON, you added in your email that you own a Canon 7D Mark II and use a Sigma 150 - 600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sport lens, which you find difficult to hand-hold. You’re looking to supplement it with either the Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM or the Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary. This is a tough choice, and there is no absolute answer, just a few things for you to take into account when you weigh…

JAKE SAYS: I was on a truck drive up to North West Australia, with a total of 1,600km to drive. It was around 11pm in the middle of nowhere when we encountered some technical difficulties with the vehicle we were in. We parked at an overnight parking ground next to a closed roadhouse. I decided to spend the whole night shooting some astrophotography, as there was zero light pollution where we were. The moon rose the minute we got out of the truck, but I still tried my best to play with its natural light. I found a composition in the pitch-black with a decent torch and shot this small gumtree with the Milky Way above it. It was taken on a Canon 6D with a 16-35mm f/4 L IS…

www.manfrotto.co.uk Manfrotto Pro Light 3N1-36 £170/$190 1 THIS versatile pack is designed for a DSLR kit, video set-up, or a small drone. In DSLR mode the lower two thirds of the bag will house a body with attached lens, surrounded by up to five extra lenses. Flaps on either side let you easily access your camera on the go, but the main front panel can slightly restrict access to lenses stored at the top of this compartment, and it likes to spring closed on occasion. You can solve this by opening the entire front of the bag, but zips, clips and Velcro need to be negotiated. Now the upper third of the bag is revealed, normally accessed by peeling back only the upper portion of the front panel. Here you’ll…

www.jimnaughten.com What’s your current mood? Good. My exhibition Mountains of Kong opened last night, and it’s always great to have prints hanging on the wall. What animal would you like to be? My dog. He gets a ridiculous amount of love and affection, lies around all day and eats well. What food do you take on a shoot? Twiglets, fruit and sparkling water. Are you more of a hunter or a gatherer? Gatherer, in terms of food at least. I’m a vegetarian and an animal lover! Who is the first photographer who comes to your mind, and why? Diane Arbus. Her work blew my mind when I first saw it at college. I realised that photography could be a ‘language’ and an art form. What did you want to be…

ASTRO PHOTO GUIDE ALYN WALLACE Stepping out into the dark, Alyn shares advice for astro photography HOTSHOTS DPS EXHIBITION See the very best shots from the Disabled Photographers’ Society PATTERN PROJECT JAMES STANFORD The artist shares how he creates his intricate mandala images PHOTO ANSWERS ANDREW JAMES Our pro advises on the best kit for your needs, and how to use it well THE BIG INTERVIEW TIM FLACH Fine-art photographer Tim on his passion for photographing animals THE PERIMETER QUINTIN LAKE It’s out into the countryside as Quintin meets some friendly folk LIGHTROOM SKILLS SEAN McCORMACK The Lightroom pro shows us how to retain huge detail and tonal range ARTIST INSIGHT JAMES ABBOTT Expert in all things Photoshop, James explains the power of Curves…

1 GO EPIC If you have a super-telephoto lens (400-1,200mm), you can really hone in on some epic moon alignments. Try a distant landmark or ask a friend to walk to a point in the distance so you can capture their silhouette. Apps like PhotoPills (www.photopills.com) allow you to plan your position with incredible accuracy. 2 THINK DEEP The light of the moon means your settings don’t need to be as extreme as those mentioned on the previous page. You have an opportunity to lower the ISO for a cleaner image and also to step down the aperture to both improve image quality and increase depth of field. 2 TREAT THE MOON LIKE THE SUN If you are using a wide-angle lens, treat the moon as you would the sun…

MOLLY Budd is a photography student at Falmouth University with an exciting portfolio of conceptual portraiture. Molly puts a creative twist on the idea of a conventional portrait in her project ‘No Body’s Home’. The playful title hints at her slightly witty character and her interest in unusual subject matter. She takes inspiration not only from fellow photographers but from all appropriate artforms, including sculptor Antony Gormley, to inform her bold, considered photographs. In her project write-up, Molly says her interest in how the sculpted body “is responsive to change; adapting to a situation or particular environment to metaphorically ‘fit in’ ”. She expressed this interest with her experimental placing of the body in the photos – playing with the female figure, placing it in precarious positions around the home.…

HEAD TO HEAD FUJIFILM GFX 50S vs NIKON D850 The medium-format Fujifilm GFX 50S and full-format DSLR Nikon D850 are tested to their limits to see which tech is king GROUP TEST LIGHTING KITS We try out eight brilliant flash kits to bring flattering lighting to portrait shoots in a studio environment and out on location MINI-TEST CAMERA BACKPACKS For ambitious photo shoots, you need to lug lots of kit around. These great backpacks offer plenty of capacity 108 and comfort MICRO TEST CARD HOLDERS Keep your memory cards safe and well organised with our pick of the best cases and wallets at a pocket-pleasing price Reviews you can trust Digital Camera is brought to you by the UK’s most experienced team of photography journalists, which means you can trust everything…

162-PAGE BUYERS’ GUIDE EBOOK If you’re after some new kit this year, you won’t want to miss your free Camera Shopper ebook, with the best buying advice around. Download the PDF now via www.bit.ly/cshopper17 WATCH THESE VIDEOS VIA www.bit.ly/dc198video PHOTOSHOP MASTERCLASS Paint with light the digital way: combine and colourise multiple shots to create amazing light paintings SEE PAGE 132 TOOL SCHOOL (1) Correct white balance and fix colour casts with Photoshop; you can even apply changes to multiple files at once SEE PAGE 140 ARTIST INSIGHT The Curves Adjustment Layer is a powerful tool, opening up precise control of brightness, contrast, even special effects SEE PAGE 142 LIGHTROOM SKILLS Merge bracketed exposures into to an HDR file without losing access to Lightroom’s full raw editing toolset SEE PAGE 138…

Skylum Luminar 2018 The latest version of Skylum/Macphun’s Lightroom rival features a new raw engine, Lens Correction tools and a brandnew digital asset management module. www.skylum.com; £64/$70 Hoya Ultra-Pro filters Hoyas new range of scratch- and stain-resistant Ultra- Pro-branded filters includes UVs and circular polarisers. The series is exclusive to the UK and ranges in size from 37 to 82mm. www.intro2020.co.uk; from £45 Lomo’Instant Automat Glass Kilimanjaro Lomo’s special-edition instant camera comes with a built-in 38mm glass lens, two additional lens attachments and the ability to focus down to 0.3m. www.lomography.com; £169/$189 B+W square filter system High-end filter manufacturer B+W has launched a new 100mm square filter holder, which features three slots and an aluminium frame for increased stability. www.manfrotto.co.uk/bwfilters; £95 Billingham 72 This small entry in the Billingham range…

1 TRIPOD A tripod is an obvious essential for any long-exposure photography – but yours needs to be as sturdy as possible. Stars are pinpoint sources of light, so any small shake in the camera will easily be detected when you inspect the stars in the image. I use the Benro Mach 3. 2 HEAD TORCH A head torch keeps your hands free to operate the camera, and also comes in handy if you need to light-paint the foreground. Using one with a red light will also help maintain your own night vision, allowing you to see better detail in the fainter objects like the Milky Way. 3 CABLE SHUTTER RELEASE Pressing the shutter button on the camera will induce shake and turn the stars in your image into confetti.…

SHOOT THE ISS IN THREE SIMPLE STEPS STEP 1 It may be travelling at 17,000mph and doing a lap around Earth every 90 minutes, but the International Space Station is surprisingly easy to capture. As you’ll be shooting a long exposure, you’ll record the path it traces across the night sky. STEP 2 Find out if there are any flyovers in the coming weeks for your location by checking Nasa’s website at http://spotthestation.nasa.gov. They also tell you where it appears and disappears and its maximum height, so you can plan your composition in advance. STEP 3 Some flyovers can take minutes, so you’ll have to capture multiple exposures if you don’t want the stars to show as a trail. Take one exposure long enough to capture the whole pass and…

WITH the internet demanding a constant stream of moving images, content creators are branching out into shooting video on their DSLRs, and videographers are thriving. Fulfilling the needs of those working in both the studio and out on location is the Nitrotech Fluid Video Head from Manfrotto – a gamechanger thanks to its unique-to-themarket nitrogen-gas-filled piston mechanism. It’s now available in a new version with a maximum payload of 12kg, joining the existing and already award-winning 8kg version. Compact, versatile & light The two flawlessly constructed, high-quality professional video heads to look for from Manfrotto are the N8 and N12, both of which deliver superlative videography. Their nitrogen piston technology allows for various combinations of cameras and accessories to be used (the camera simply clicks in from above), and for…

MONO MAGIC EXPERT JUDGE: PAUL GALLAGHER WINNER ALAN SMITH Paul says: “The weight, balance and structure of the composition is spot-on. The water luminance, subtle tones, symmetry and arrangement of the reflections are all working in harmony to create a powerful and striking image. The shadow detail has been handled well, revealing the skills of the photographer’s processing technique.” 2nd HENRIK SPRANZ “This image is bang-on! It’s a striking and dynamic portrait of this rather splendid Eurasian Black vulture. The photographer has captured a wonderful subtlety in the tonality, especially in the plumage. It would be very easy to ‘overcook’ an image like this and boost the contrast too much, however restraint has paid off.” 3rd ANDREW ROBERTSON “What a dynamic image and concept. The shapes, lines and tones draw…

INNOVATIVE FEATURES OF THE BEFREE ADVANCED There are two models to choose from, offering a choice of lever lock (QPL Travel) or twist lock (M-lock) legs Both tripods feature new leg angle selectors, positioned to enable both right- and left-handed photographers to easily switch shooting perspectives without hassle Three leg angles provide versatility and creative flexibility The 494 Centre Ball Head features three independent controls for precise adjustments The 494 head is also compatible with a unique plate in the 200PL PRO that fits nearly all Manfrotto RC2 fit heads, plus Arca Swiss compatible heads A new spider is designed to give maximum stability on many and varied types of terrain An integrated hook allows extra weight, if desired, to be hung on the tripod to further maximise stability 100%…

AT HAVERIGG Point, I pass three people in succession picking up warm dog faeces in thin plastic bags with their hands. The British have strange ideas of how to spend their leisure time! The 12km of shingle walking past Millom at Haverigg Beach is slow going, with an alarming frequency of plastic pollution along the entire length. Sports drink bottles are the most prevalent form of detritus. In the afternoon the shingle gives way to sand; form and fast to walk on, it feels like riding a conveyor belt after hours sliding backwards on the shingle. I’m learning the hard way that when the map shows ‘ford’ in Cumbria, it is not the Haywain-like pastoral scene that I’m used to wading across down south. The Eskmeals ford is the most…

IN THE past, full-frame DSLRs and medium-format digital cameras were separated by a huge gulf. Medium-format cameras were huge and unwieldy and ruinously expensive, but delivered a level of resolution completely beyond the reach of full-frame DSLRs. But two things have happened. First, full-frame DSLR resolution has leapt up to match that of many medium-format cameras; and then the slimmed-down Fujifilm GFX 50S and Hasselblad X1D arrived at a size and price much closer to those of a full-frame DSLR. We’ve lined up the brand new Nikon D850 to represent the latest state-ofthe- art tech in full-frame DSLRs, and the mirrorless Fujifilm GFX 50S, the medium-format camera which perhaps gives the most recognisable shooting experience for those upgrading from a smaller format. Both cameras capture more or less 50 million…

Elinchrom D-Lite RX 4/4 To Go £725/$820 D-Lite by name, delight by nature ELINCHROM D-Lite RX flash heads combine smart features with intutive controls, making them versatile yet easy to useThis kit includes a pair of the most powerful heads in the D-Lite range, two softboxes measuring 56cm and 66cm, a translucent deflector, stands and a full set of cables. The entire kit has a premium look and feel. All Elinchrom RX flash heads have built-in RF (Radio Frequency) receivers. The kit adds a hotshoe-mounting EL-Skyport Transmitter Plus transmitter for triggering the flash heads and remotely adjusting flash settings. An ‘intelligent’ slave mode also enables them to be triggered from a flashgun, ignoring any pre-flash pulses. Performance Power adjustments are very accurate and the consistency of output between flashes is…

FOR a studio or another location with mains power, the Elinchrom D-Lite kit wins out for power, sophistication, ease of use and build quality. It’s simply the best choice. For sheer versatility, however, there’s no beating the Interfit S1 location kit which, again, features two flash heads but works equally well on mains or batteries. For location kits that are purely batterypowered, the Phottix, Elinchrom ELB-400 and Profoto kits all have a lot to offer. Advanced modes are brilliantly implemented in the Profoto B1X kit, but it works out pricey once you add the separate RF remote controller. The Phottix Indra500 TTL is better value if you don’t mind the head being tethered to a separate battery pack. The Elinchrom ELB 400 has light yet powerful Quadra heads, but lacks…

Photoshop SOFTWARE Photoshop CC GET IT FROM www.adobe.com GET START FILES FROM www.bit.ly/dc198files JON ADAMS Photographer and writer Jon is a photographer and writer, and also provides individual and small group tuition in digital SLR and Photoshop skills. jon@jonadamsmedia.co.uk WATCH VIDEO www.bit.ly/dc198video DOWNLOAD THE VIDEO www.bit.ly/dc198bonus SOME projects are so exciting that you really have no idea how much time has elapsed since you started them. Utterly absorbed in the task at hand, you find yourself lost in the creative process, and everything else simply fades into the background. This kind of complete fulfilment is quite rare in today’s quickfire world, but with this technique for creating ‘paintings’ made out of light, you will find it. Aside from your camera, a tripod and a torch, all you need is a…

Lightroom SOFTWARE Lightroom CC GET IT FROM www.adobe.com GET START FILE FROM www.bit.ly/dc198files SEAN McCORMACK Photographer and writer Sean McCormack is a photographer and writer based in Galway in the west of Ireland. He’s the author of The Indispensable Guide to Lightroom CC. seanmcfoto.com HIGH Dynamic Range describes a photo with an exceptionally wide tonal range – beyond what a typical camera can capture in one shot. You’ll typically create an HDR file by merging a series of photo shots at differing exposures to get a photo with an increased range of tones. When shooting landscapes, you often find that an exposure for the sky makes the ground too dark, and an exposure for the ground would blow out the sky. The solution is to take a shot for the…

Photoshop SOFTWARE Photoshop CC GET IT FROM www.adobe.com GET START FILE FROM www.bit.ly/dc198files JAMES PATERSON Editor, Practical Photoshop With a decade as a working writer and photographer behind him, James knows exactly which Photoshop and Lightroom tools and techniques matter the most to you. STEP BY STEP COLOUR-CORRECT A SET OF PHOTOS Learn how to fix white balance both in a single photo and an entire set... WATCH VIDEO www.bit.ly/dc198video DOWNLOAD THE VIDEO www.bit.ly/dc198bonus USE THE WHITE BALANCE TOOL 1 Navigate to a folder of similarly lit images in Adobe Bridge. Right-click on an image and select Open In Camera Raw from the resulting pop-up menu, then grab the White Balance tool from the toolbar. Click over a neutral grey point (or drag a box to sample a wider area).…

Photoshop SOFTWARE Photoshop CC GET IT FROM www.adobe.com GET START FILES FROM www.bit.ly/dc198files JAMES ABBOTT Photographer and journalist James is a professional photographer and journalist. He’s an advanced Photoshop user and has created hundreds of tutorials to help photographers improve their skills. jamesaphoto.co.uk WATCH VIDEO www.bit.ly/dc198video DOWNLOAD THE VIDEO www.bit.ly/dc198bonus Photoshop is a vast editing program capable of amazing image transformations, but there are a number of its basic tools every photographer needs to understand. Curves is one of them, because of the many effects this single tool can achieve. Curves is an essential editing tool for photographers because of the precise control over brightness, contrast and colour it provides. Thanks to four channels, including one that covers the other three together, you have everything you need to help make…

Photoshop SOFTWARE Photoshop CC GET IT FROM www.adobe.com GET START FILES FROM www.bit.ly/dc198files JAMES PATERSON Editor, Practical Photoshop With a decade as a working writer and photographer behind him, James knows which Photoshop and Lightroom tools and techniques matter the most to you. WATCH VIDEO www.bit.ly/dc198video DOWNLOAD THE VIDEO www.bit.ly/dc198bonus Newer than ever Access templates and more… Photoshop’s New Document Dialog (File > New) houses all kinds of useful templates and images. Traditionally it’s the place to set up a new blank document by specifying the size, resolution and colour. All this can still be done, but there’s a lot more on offer too, such as the range of customisable templates. These are organised into eight tabs along the top of the box. Most templates are layered PSD files; some include…